


Straight Through Hell With a Smile

by Tabbyluna



Series: Fictober 2020 [13]
Category: Skylanders (Video Games)
Genre: Backstory, Family, Gen, Heartwarming, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:46:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26986156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabbyluna/pseuds/Tabbyluna
Summary: It had taken years to find him. So many years that Torch had lost count. In that time, she had searched all over Skylands. Over mountains, valleys, tundras, deserts. Scouting near and far just to find where her grandfather might have ended up. It was an operation which seemed futile many times, often Torch needed to rely on others in order to feel any sort of hope. But finally, after all those years of seemingly fruitless searching, she finally had a hint as to where he might be.
Relationships: Deja Vu/Torch (Skylanders)
Series: Fictober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947136





	Straight Through Hell With a Smile

**Author's Note:**

> I always feel bad about writing Torch as 'Deja Vu's partner' all the time, so here's one about her own backstory and family life.

It had taken years to find him. So many years that Torch had lost count. In that time, she had searched all over Skylands. Over mountains, valleys, tundras, deserts. Scouting near and far just to find where her grandfather might have ended up. It was an operation which seemed futile many times, often Torch needed to rely on others in order to feel any sort of hope. But finally, after all those years of seemingly fruitless searching, she finally had a hint as to where he might be.

And like a thirsty man in the desert, like a starving cat to a rotting fish, she jumped to get that information.

There were reports of an elderly man who looked a lot like a person of her species living all the way out in the Fantasm Forest in the Cloudbreak Islands. That was extremely far from her hometown, and her people weren’t really known for being nomadic or even frequent travellers. How Grandfather Blaze had disappeared had been mysterious, and his potential whereabouts were anyone’s guess. At that point, she was willing to try anything that might even  _ hint _ at him.

She finished her patrols for the day, then headed for the M.A.P to the Cloudbreak islands. Fortunately, the road to the forest was a short one. Merely taking an hour to arrive, as opposed to a week or a month. That journey did not span ages, which was good for Torch. The suspense of checking out whether it actually was her Grandfather Blaze or not was killing her.

Good lord, did she miss the Portal System.

It took a bit more time to find him. Mostly, she talked with the locals, asking them all where the elderly man who looked like her was residing. The first few she talked with gave her rather confusing directions. And embarrassingly enough, she did get lost in the woods. But eventually, she found some who gave her clearer instructions. And for that, she thanked them with all of her heart.

She walked down a clearer path. One which looked to be cleared out after years and years of travelling through. In her eyes, that was a good sign. Grandfather Blaze had always been a practical man, carrying around tools for any occasion. He taught Torch from a young age to always be prepared, no matter what. And the result was that he became ready for anything.

It was why Torch was never particularly fearful for his survival. He was hardy, he could probably survive anything. The man walked around with a toolkit attached to his belt. He never left home without a homemade Swiss Army Knife and a small packet of rations. Said Swiss Army Knife included a mini-blowtorch. Her main drive for finding had always been solely because she missed the man, and wanted desperately to see him again.

And at the end of that seemingly man-made path, standing above a ring of wood set up to be a campfire, in the late evening. She finally saw that old man again. Carrying a bucket of water, no doubt going to make some soup for supper.

*****

They hugged when they finally saw each other again. It had been years. Far too long since they even laid eyes on each other. For the most part, they had both gotten by fine - Grandfather Blaze raised Torch to be hardy and self-reliant, and he himself still had plenty of spunk in him - but they thought they had lost each other. And finally seeing each other again brought great relief to their hearts.

Torch brought him to the Academy, where he would spend the night. There, he met Déjà Vu, who greeted him with a handshake and a smile. “Torch told me all sorts of great things about you,” she said. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you!”

“I’m just happy that my Torch was able to find someone special in her life,” said Grandfather Blaze, giving her a friendly slap on the back. 

The three of them spent their dinner with each other. Talking, telling jokes, exchanging stories. It was all so pleasant. Later that evening, Grandfather Blaze shared Torch’s room. Sleeping on a futon on the floor, so that the next day they could both be well-rested enough to head back to the village.

On the journey there, Torch finally learned about how he had mysteriously disappeared. And in the process, she learned that Grandfather Blaze had a secret hobby he never told her about.

“I always taught you that it was good to be prepared. Better to have a skill and never use it, than to need a skill but be unable to perform it,” he said. “Well, I’m sorry for not telling you about it, but I did actually try to learn several skills. Most of which I never told you about.”

Torch nodded. She had honestly been through too much to be upset at Grandfather Blaze keeping secrets from her.

“One of the things I had been trying to learn had been teleportation magic. I found a book about it one day, and I decided that it could be a potentially useful skill to have. So at night, when you thought I was asleep, I had actually been practicing magic.”

“Aw, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Honestly, I can’t remember why I didn’t! It actually seems kind of silly of me not to now,” he admitted. “But yes. When that ice dragon froze the entire village over, and I heard that you were the only one to have escaped, I knew I just had to get out there to assist you.”

It was at this point when Grandfather Blaze asked for them to sit down and have a break. Though he still fancied himself a spry man, with an unbreakable spirit, unfortunately his body was getting older and more easily tired. So the break was necessary. Torch had to admit, she was feeling rather tired too. So as they sat down under the shade of a big tree, he continued telling his story. 

“I had never actually casted a teleportation spell before that point, but I knew I simply had to try. But honestly, I really should have practiced. Because in a burst of magic, I teleported all the way to that island, and for the longest time I had no idea how to get back home.” He sighed, then wrapped an arm around Torch. “Honestly, it is amazing that you even found me.”

Torch had nothing to say. It just made her feel emotions which she could not even label.

At last, they made it to their old village. Together, they walked down a familiar path, back to their old house. The old dragon ranch, left exactly like how they had both left it. 

Miraculously, the key under the doormat had not been stolen. Then again, they were generally pretty well-liked around town. Maybe they had just been lucky that no one stole it, or maybe no one stole it out of respect for them.

When they entered their house, it was left exactly like they had left it. A coat of dust covered everything, and cobwebs filled the empty spaces. There were cockroaches and rats and an awful rotting smell. But other than that, everything from the tools to the television set was placed exactly where they had last seen it. Not a single thing had disappeared. Not a single item was stolen.

“You know, while I was out camping in the wilderness, I missed all these things. The house, the conveniences, the neighbours…”

Then he trailed off, and turned to look at Torch. Without another word, he wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a hug. “But out of all of that, I missed this the most.”

Torch stood there and smiled, happy to get another hug from Grandfather Blaze.

**Author's Note:**

> I like giving the Skylanders' family members their own quirks and personalities. Makes their lives feel a lot richer.


End file.
